Many earth-working machines, such as, for example, loaders, excavators, hydraulic mining shovels, cable shovels, bucket wheels, and draglines, include tools for moving material (e.g., for digging material out of the earth). These tools are often subjected to extreme wear from abrasion and impacts experienced while moving the material. In order to mitigate the wear, replaceable wear members are fit to the tools and engage the material being moved.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2015/0266527 A1 (the '527 publication) to Akinlua et al. describes a link for a track assembly of a machine. The link body includes a first surface configured to contact a rotatable element of the track assembly and a second surface configured to contact a track shoe coupled to the link body. The link includes a plurality of markings defined on the link body proximal to the first surface, wherein each of the markings is indicative of progressive wear of the link body with respect to the first surface.
The system of the '527 publication may provide certain benefits in monitoring progressive wear of a wear element of a machine. However, further improvements that would facilitate identification of the extent of wear on a surface of a wear element of a machine, and in particular that would enable automated identification of the extent of wear may be desirable. The disclosed embodiments may help solve this and other problems.